Smart Ring or Ring One

Why in news?

Indian startup, Muse Wearables has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch India’s 1^st wearable payments ecosystem.

• Ring One – An advanced smart ring for instant, secure, and contactless payments.
• It claims to be India’s 1^st secure element tokenization (SET) platform.
• Aim – To make digital payments simple, secure, and accessible for millions of users, including those in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
• Launched by – Muse Wearables, an IIT Madras-incubated multinational tech startup.
• Partnered with –  NPCI powered by the RuPay network.
• Muse Wallet — A deep-tech payment platform that enables tokenized, hardware-level transactions using a secure element embedded within Ring One.

Key features

• RuPay Integration – The ecosystem is powered by the RuPay network, which enables users to link their credit or debit cards to the wearable.
• This marks the 1^st time RuPay has been used for this type of payments technology in India.
• Contactless "tap-and-pay" – This ecosystem enables payments with a simple tap on any near field communication (NFC)-enabled point-of-sale (PoS) terminal, without the need for any phone, card, or wallet.
• Secure element – The Muse Wallet converts a RuPay card into an encrypted digital token stored in a tamper-resistant Secure Element (SE) chip within the ring, ensuring user credentials are secure and isolated.
• Advanced security features – Payments are functional only when the Ring One is being worn. If the ring is removed, transactions are instantly disabled.
• If the device is lost or stolen, the token becomes inert without user authentication.

The Muse Ring One Payments has been already live across 40 countries and integrated with nearly 600 banks through the Mastercard network.  

• Alings with – Completely developed, designed, and manufactured in India, Muse’s wearables and payment technology combine the “Make in India, Made for the World” ambition.
• Significance - This development signifies a major step forward for India's digital payments landscape, combining convenience, advanced security, and indigenous technology.

References

1. Business Standard | India's 1^st wearables payment ecosystem
2. The Hindu | India's 1^st wearables payment ecosystem